Grace and Peace to you in the name of Christ!
According to the scientific community, time is experienced as a constant. That means that no matter how we perceive it’s passage, it remains the same. Still, over the years I have noticed how the passage of time seems to vary during various parts of our lives.
As children, time seems to crawl. Waiting for Christmas, waiting for our birthday or waiting to jump in the swimming pool seems to take forever! As teens, we couldn’t wait to be old enough to drive, graduate from high school and look forward to college.
For many of us, waiting for the excitement of a new shared life in marriage was another time stopper as plans for the big day seemed to drag on in anticipation of the future.
Later, as children came into our lives, the season of pregnancy seemed to be forever as well although near the end of the term the days began to pass more quickly as the due date approached.
Then, something very strange happened. During the good times of our lives, time moved more quickly as the kids grew and activities with them accelerated our perception of time. The things we had waited for and wished would come soon suddenly were here and gone before we knew it.
My first appointment in ministry came in July of 1975 and two months later Bonnie and I were married. I was still in college looking forward to seminary and eventually Ordination. I looked forward to completing all that schoolwork even as the kids entered our lives. Before we knew it, our lives were moving on day after day and year after year. As a pastor, it seemed to go by even more quickly as I worked from one Sunday to the next. As I left the church on Sunday night it was time to prepare for the coming Sunday.
There were times I looked forward to the next steps of my journey and times I wondered why God had asked me to be there in the difficult times of ministry. Once when I was discouraged, my District Superintendent said to me, “Don’t wish you life away… it goes quickly enough.” I thought that was a bit cliché at the moment…words spoken by someone much older.
Nine years ago, I came to be your pastor excited about the possibilities that were ahead. I guess I thought my ministry was somehow eternal and only old pastors ever left for retirement. And then one day not too long ago I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror. Where I once saw the image of a pastor who was younger than most of my parishioners and colleagues, it was replaced with the image of an older face. “How did this happen?”, I asked myself. It seemed I was just 40 years old last I knew. But now I realized I was soon to be turning 72!
Therein lies the rub. Pastors in our denomination can not serve a church full time after 72 years of age. They must leave the church they are serving in July of the year they turn that age. They can, in retirement work part time in a parish but can not serve fulltime any longer.
Where did the days and the years go? I can’t remember tearing off that many calendar pages. I thought I had best let you all know that I will be officially retiring on June 30th, 2025.
I am forever grateful to God for His call upon my life. Serving God’s people has been an honor and a privilege. Sharing my life with Bonnie and our kids in the atmosphere of loving church communities has just been wonderful.
Now, there is a lot of work to be done between now and my retirement date. I’m sure that these days will go by quickly from my perspective of time passing by. I will cherish my months here and the memories I will take along while knowing that God will continue to be with this congregation in the years to come.
Until next time…
Rev. Mike Bealla